give (one) a pasting

give (one) a pasting

1. To soundly defeat or best one; to defeat one by a wide margin. Their team's inexperience showed on the pitch today, as the powerful squad from New Zealand really gave them a pasting.

2. To very strongly rebuke, criticize, condemn, or punish one. The principal gave Mark a pasting because of that prank he pulled in class yesterday.

See also: give, paste

give somebody/get a ˈpasting

(informal, especially British English)
1 beat somebody/be beaten very easily: Our team was given a real pasting on Saturday. We lost 6-0. ♢ The Democrats got a real pasting at the local elections.
2 criticize somebody/be criticized very severely: His new film got a pasting in the newspaper yesterday. ♢ She gave me a real pasting for handing in my essay a week late.

See also: get, give, paste, somebody